Haute-Loire. RN88: Will the construction site be declared to be of public utility?

Monday at 5 p.m. marked the closing of the public inquiry into the RN88 bypass project, opened by the Haute-Loire prefecture on June 26. The public was invited to give their opinion on the expropriations required for the construction of the dual carriageway bypassing the communes of Saint-Hostien and Le Pertuis. Those who wished to do so were able to express their views on whether the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region, the project owner since 2022, should acquire additional plots of land to continue the work.

The France Nature Environnement 43 association, having expressed its unfavorable opinion, questioned the prefecture regarding the methods used to conduct this new investigation , regretting "that no identity checks were carried out when contributions were submitted." This opened the door, according to FNE, to multiple opinions from the same person, to participation under false identities and even to identity theft. Renaud Daumas, a regional ecologist councilor, was the victim of this: someone signed a contribution in his name stating that he had changed his mind and was now in favor of the project presented by the Region. Which is obviously not the case.

For over a month, observations and proposals were submitted to a digital register by email or at one of the four survey locations. They will now be reviewed to determine whether or not the diversion should be declared to be of public utility (DUP)*.

The diversion was deemed as such in 1997 but, due to expropriations still required, it must be deemed so again before work can resume.

Renaud Daumas, the regional elected member of the La lutte des Sucs collective , called on the people of Altiligériens to massively express their disagreement. "This project will destroy 190 hectares of farmland, forests, wetlands, dozens of water sources, the habitat of more than 130 protected species, the end of town shops, will shift the nuisances onto other residents and will cost nearly 400 million euros instead of the 226 million announced," he argues. "Credible, less expensive and environmentally friendly alternatives exist to address the issue of securing the route and reducing traffic."

The regional councilor added: "If the project owner had chosen the credible and effective alternatives that we have been proposing since June 2020, local residents would already be relieved, the route would already be secure, and more services would be offered to the population."

For its part, the Region is defending its project . "The RN88, the main road between Lyon and Toulouse, constitutes a major development link. It is essential for opening up and serving the regions."

Among the contributors to the public inquiry, many deplored the impact of the dual carriageway on the environment and biodiversity , while others considered the bypass of Saint-Hostien and Pertuis as proposed by the Region to be essential .

*Declaration of Public Utility (DUP): this procedure allows for a development operation to be carried out on private land by expropriating it for reasons of public utility. It can be obtained following a public inquiry.